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Posted on: April 18, 2019

NJ Prepares for 2020 Census

We are now within 12 months of 2020 Census Day – April 1, 2020. The U.S Census Bureau has been staffing up for the count that will determine New Jersey’s representation in Congress, Congressional and State Legislative District boundaries, and the amount of federal formula funding that will be made available to the Garden State and to every community within it. What happens during the census will determine representation and resource allocations for your municipality for the next ten years.

An undercount will cost the citizens of your municipality, and of our State, equitable representation and their fair share. If you have not yet started to plan for the census, we encourage you to see the Bureau’s One Year Out report and its 2020 Operational Plan for good overviews of what will be done and what you can do to make this Constitutionally required count a success. Then find out how You Can Partner with the Bureau.

The census also creates an opportunity for temporary employment that can provide extra income to unemployed, under-employed, and self-employed individuals, as well as students and retirees in your community. You can share this information and direct interested parties to the Bureau’s 2020 Census Jobs site.

We have also learned that the New Jersey Division of Family Development (the Division), in the Department of Human Services, has secured waivers from the Federal government that will eliminate one potential roadblock for census job seekers. Under the waivers, temporary employment for the 2020 Census will not impair eligibility for any cash public assistance benefits. So TANF and GA benefits will not be reduced or lost, due to Census Bureau employment.

The Division is also exploring the possibility of protecting SNAP benefits, at this time. We will keep you posted on that, and on other 2020 Census opportunities.